Panhandle medical services are on life support after Michael
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aleeah Racette receives medical treatment inside the Florida 5 Disaster Medical Assistance Team tent, outside the Bay Medical Sacred Heart hospital, in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. At left is her mother, Amy Cross, and Amy's fiance, Corey Shuman. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Medical services in the Florida Panhandle are still on life support more than a week after Hurricane Michael.
The two major hospitals in Panama City still aren't admitting patients. Only emergency room services are available at Bay Medical Sacred Heart and Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center.
Aleeah Racette was born at Bay Medical and went there seeking treatment for strep throat. She was stunned to see damage to the structure.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Special disaster teams are providing care in tents set up outside both hospitals. Patients with the most serious needs have been sent to other hospitals by ambulance or helicopter.
A spokeswoman at Bay Medical Sacred Heart says officials there have heard from only about half the facility's 1,700 employees since the storm. Both communication and travel remain difficult.